Coconut paring machine having overlapping disk knives



D86, 2, 1958 Y c, MacDoUGALL 2,862,534

COCONUT PARING MACHINE HAVING OVERLAPPING DISK KNIVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fifij. 1. 132.

Filed Feb. 25, 1955 Fig la.

INVENTOR Hugh cM Dougal 1.

Gama/Lon, Wm *M ATTORNEYS Dc. 2, 1958 H. c. M DOUGALL COCONUT PARING MACHINE HAVING OVERLAPPING DISK KNIVES Filed Feb. 23, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR H uo'l-z C. M Douc v' all BY @a/mmm,%wam% ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1958 v H. c. M DOUGALL 2,862,534

COCONUT PARING MACHINE HAVING OVERLAPP-ING DISK KNIVES Filed Feb. 23, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENfiBQ Hugh (lM 'Dougall.

BY GG/WLWY ,Wd/IIL Y ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1958 H. c. MECDOUGALL COCONUT PARING MACHINE HAVING OVERLAPPING DISK KNIVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 25, 1955 INVENTOR 0' a l L BY 9 W, W YMZ/ ATTORNEY-5' u m m m Q m M i 0 mm v mm w. H m

. Wm m. wm m w}. m w. mm H L H. n Tm M fm m M m m -ence charactersindicated view of an; illustrativeembodiment of the paring machine of; the-present invention; with merit at-the second paring station;

United States Patent ,cocorwrmnmo MACHINEHAVING ER A NQDISKKN E HughQfMacDougall; Palisades larir, N. J. Application February 23, .1955, Serial No.489,846 oamst 4 4) the unpared ends of the nut are-removed andhthegnut is discharged in completely pared condition.

Heretofore various machineshave been proposed for paring ,edible objectsusuch as coconuts. The present invention has for its general object an improvement over such prior art machines'in which the, nuts are quickly and "efiiciently pared in a machine of 'relativelyisimple construction whichby reason of the movement ofthe nuts from station tostation increases the speed of paring of the nuts.

:It is another object of this invention to provide novel paring devices=for the removal of the skin of edible objects for use in the appa ratus of the present invention.

Within the general definition of the invention as given above the-present invention is capable of various mechanical embodiments ne of which" is 1 shown in the accompanying drawings and is described;hereinafter to illustrate the invention. -This illustrative embodiment be construed as definingior drawings, j n which 1 like referlike parts, 1' is an end -In the accompanying the end framing removed 'to show the relative position Q f the several parts thereof and wi-tb the-drive for the central shaft in 'bi'oken lines; Fig. *laf is a -view of-a portion of *the :drive'for' the paring k-nives;

"Fig. 2--is a-nenlarged view partly insection of the mechanism at the second paring station -showing in detail the overlapping -rotar-y cutters for paringfthe edible bie Fig Za-is-a continuation -of the showing of fig. 2; Fig.6 1 is; an: enlarged end view of the ciitter arrange- -mentat the first paring stat-ion;

Fig=4-isan enlarged-endviewof the cutter arrangeand I Fig. =-'5 '--is an enlarged view 'fro'm above of a typical arrangement --of r the rotary cutters used 4 at the paring --stations.

Before considering the detailed construction of this illustrativeembodimentofthe presentinvention itshould beunderstood-that-;the -object to be pared h'ereinafter referred-toas a coconut is" supplied to the ma-chineat a --loading station generallyindicated at 1 in Fig.1 where .it is -'supported betweenearn actuatedplungers. "The coconut, -while' held between the I plungefs; is tlien moved "describedin rnore detail hereinafter but,"in Tbrief it "bythe rotating' coconut to perform their paring action.

moved to the second paring "to be pared move through i i o this end the drive shaft of :step by step by any suitable means and any; suitable manner as per se forms no part 'plungers, cam mechanism {described hereinafter in r 2,862,534 Re ine De 2, 19.5.?

2 to the, first paring station generally indicated at 11, where the coconut is rotated about its long axis while, at the same time cOrningintO contactwith apluralityofov erlapping circular rotary knives whichiemove' a-p'ortion of the skin from the coconut. T -he coconut is .then station generally indicated at-12' where the rotating coconut is engaged by ansecond set of overlapping circular rotary knives which remove the skinfrom thefcoconut notremovedat the firstparing station. When paring is completed,at thelsecondfparirig station" the coconutis moved to a' discharge fstatio'n generally indicatediat'lia where camactuated-knives are moved into contact with theends ofi the coconut to remove the unpared ends and toallow the milk to liiow from the coconut. After the ends are fremovedfthe iveyed from the machine which then returns the now .enipty plungers back to the loading station v1,01 When the machine is in normal operation-there will be a coconut at each of the aforesaid four stations andcoconuts the machine in a continuous ,s equence.

jAs noted above, the ro ary overlapping circular parknives and their arrangementat the first and sec rid par ng stations comprise an important part of thepresent These .kniyes and their constructionwill be :highspeed through its ownindividual drive'a part of which comprises a rigid tubeQmounted in suitable spring balanced framework so that as the coconutis moved toithe paring station the'knives will be slightly displaced Two paring stations are usually sufficientlto completelyfpare'a coconut or like edible object butitis Within the v purview of i this invention to include 7 as many paring stations as maybe required and the present invention is notlimited to the use of two paring stations :sets'fof coconut supporting plungers and associated O erat n devices may be used. Thus each s et fof plungers and associated operating devices is spaced at an angle of from the next set and lthe' four sets of plungers and associated operating devices are mounted for'iinitary intermittent rotation about a central axis. the machine may be driven controlled 7 in by the useof a drive of the well known Geneva-type or even by hand. Likewise the rotating devices, plungers, and other elements of each set can'be operated by any suitable mechanism which of'the present invention. Each set ofmechanisms comprises coconutsupporting for moving the same, end 'cutting' knives and cam rnechanism for moving the sarne,

mechanism for rotating. the coconut about its longaigis, and mechanism torrotating the end cutting knives. The arrangement and operation of each set is the same for each of the four stations of the machine and soIwill be detail with respect to but one of"them, and with particular reference to its operation at the second paring station.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1 the machine of the present invention is providedwith a suitable .bed 14 upon which suitable end framing 15 is mounted. End

with horizontal framing 16 in which central shaft 17 is mounted for rotation in suitable bearings 18. A top frame 19 extends between end frames and carries a frame generally indicated at 20 supporting the paring knives at the first andsecond paring stations.

Shaft 17 carries pulley 21 which is driven by belt 22 which'in turn is driven by a suitable power device 23. As stated above, this drive rotates shaft 17 in an intermittent stepwise manner together with the four sets of mechanisms as will be more fully understood hereinafter.

Spaced parallel frames 24 and 25 are keyed to shaft 17 adjacent one end thereof (Fig. 2) and similar spaced parallel frames 26 and 27 are keyed to shaft 17 adjacent the other end thereof (Fig. 2a). Each of frames 24, 25, 26 and 27 comprises four arms shown at 28, 29, 30 and 31 for frame 24, each arm being at a 90 angle to the next arm. Each oppositely disposed pair of these arms supports for rotation a cam shaft and a plunger-supporting actuating shaft and assembly extending parallel to central shaft 17. The cam shafts are shown at 32, 33, 34 and 35 and the plunger shafts are shown at 36, 37, 38 and 39 for frames 24 and 25. Cam shafts 32, 33, 34 and 35 are rotated by suitable pulleys secured thereto, respectively, and indicated at 40, 41, 42 and 43. Pulleys 40, 41, 42 and 43 are rotated by belts 44, 45, 46 and 47, respectively, each of these belts embracing a suitable pulley 48 (Fig. 2) which is mounted for free rotation on shaft 17 and is in turn rotated by belt 49 which leads to a suitable pulley 50 on common drive shaft 51, drive shaft 51 being driven by a suitable motor 52.

Each of oppositely disposed parallel frames 26 and 27 is also provided with four extending arms similar to those described above for frames 24 and 25 and each of'the arms of frames 26 and 27 carry identical structure to that described above for the arms of frames 24 and 25. One such cam shaft 53 is shown in Fig. 2a. Shaft 53 is rotated by pulley 54 secured thereto which in turn is driven by belt 55 driven by a suitable pulley 56 mounted for free rotation on central shaft 17. Pulley 56 is driven pulley similar to pulley 50 on common drive shaft 51. Belts 58, 59 and 60 extend from pulley 56 to the other pulleys on the cam shafts carried by the other arms of frames 26 and 27. Each spaced pair of arms of frames 26 and 27 is aligned with the corresponding pair of arms of frames 24 and 25.

As noted above, each pair of parallel arms of frames 24 and 25 supports a coconut supporting plunger and end cutting apparatus, these central shafts 36, 37, 38 and 39 mentioned above, and the pairs of arms of frames 26 and 27 carry similar plungers, end cutting apparatus, and shafts, one of which is shown in Fig. 2a at 61. Thus each cam shaft and plunger shaft carried by frames 24 and 25 has a counterpart aligned cam shaft and plunger shaft carried by frames 26 and 27. Frames 24 and 25 are spaced with respect to frames 26 and 27 and the plunger assemblies are so arranged that a coconut may be supported at the framing 15 is provided ends of its long axis between oppositely disposed plungers for rotation and for movement from station to station in the machine in a manner to be hereinafter described.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, cam shaft mounted in bearings 62 and 63 and is premovement by a sleeve 64 secured thereto between the bearings. Cam shaft 34 carries a suitable cam 65 to actuate the plunger assembly and a second suitable cam 66 to actuate the end cutting knives when the discharge station is reached. Frames 24 and 25 also support bearings 67 and 68 in which plunger housing 69 is mounted for rotation. Plunger housing 69 extends parallel to cam shaft 34 and to main shaft 17 and is rotated by a pulley 70 suitably keyed thereto.

mechanisms including the by belt 57 which is driven by a suitable the diameter of pulley 72,

' thers m by spr n Pulley 70 is driven by belt 71 which passes around pulley 72 which in turn is mounted for free rotation on shaft 17. Pulley 72 is rotated by belt 73 which is driven by a suitable pulley on common drive shaft 51. Belts 74, 75 and 76 rotate the other plunger housings surrounding shafts 36, 37 and 39. Housing 69 is prevented from axial movement in bearings 67 and 68 by suitable split rings 77 and 78.

A tubular end cutting knife 79 is mounted for rotation on housing 69 and is urged into cutting engagement with the coconut shown at 80 by cam 66, tension spring 81 holding knife 79 against cam 66. Knife 79 is rotated by belt 82 which is driven by a suitable pulley 83 mounted for free rotation on shaft 17 and pulley 83 is driven by belt 84 which in turn is driven by a suitable pulley on common drive shaft 51. Belts 85, 86 and 87 rotate the end cutting knives on the plunger housings on shafts 36, 37 and 39 respectively.

Shaft 38 is moved axially by cam 65 acting in cam collars 88 and 89 and carries an expanded head 90 secured at its other extremity. Head 90 engages tubular spike support 91 which slides in cylindrical extension 92 of housing 69 against the pressure of spring 93 which engages shoulder 94 and ring 95. Support 91 carries a plurality of spikes 96 which pass through suitable holes in head 90 and engage the end portions of the coconut. Cam 65 is so shaped that the cononut 80 will be supported and rotated by spikes 96 at the loading station and through the paring stations to the discharge station and through the operation of the end cutting knives 79. The diameter of pulley 83 is selected with due regard for of pulley 70 and of knife 79 so that knife 79 will at all times rotate at speeds greater than the speed of rotation of the coconut 80 to effect the cutting of the ends of the coconut when the end cutting and discharge station is reached.

Frames 26 and 27 carry structures at the extremities of each of their four extending arms similar to that described above for Fig. 2 and the counterpart of the structure of Fig. 2 lying oppositely thereto and supporting the other side of the coconut 80 is shown in Fig. 2a. Cam shaft 53 is mounted in bearings 97 and 98 and is prevented from axial movement by sleeve 99 suitably secured theretop Cam shaft 53 carries carns 100 and 101, cam 100 axially moving shaft 61 and cam 101 moving end cutting knife 102 into engagement with the end of coconut 80 at the end cutting and discharge station. Frames 26 and 27 also carry aligned bearings 103 and 104 in which plunger housing 105 is mounted for rotation. Housing 105 is prevented from axial movement by suitable split rings 106 and 107 and is rotated by a suitable pulley 108 keyed thereto and driven by belt 109 which in turn is driven by pulley 110 mounted for free rotation on shaft 17. Pulley 110 is driven by belt 111 which in turn is driven by a suitable pulley mounted on common drive shaft 51. Belts 112, 113 and 114 drive the other plunger housings mounted in the other arms of frames 26 and 27.

Circular end cutting knife 102 is mounted for rotation on housing 105 and for axial movement thereon by the action of cam 101, tension spring 115 holding knife 102 against cam 101. Knife 102 is rotated at higher speeds than coconut 80 by belt 116 which is driven by pulley 117, pulley 117 being the counterpart of pulley 83. Pulley 117 is driven by belt 118 which in turn is driven by a suitable pulley on common drive shaft 51. Belts 119, 1 20 and 121 drive the corresponding cylindrical knives at the other extremities of the extending arms of frames 26 and 27.

Cam 100 moves shaft 61 axially by engagement with cam shoulders 122 and 123 and shaft 61 carries on its other extremity an expanded head 124 which engages spike support 125. Spike support 125 moves axially in extension 126 of housing 105 and is urged outwardly 127 which abuts shoulder 128 and ring 1 129." Support carries. spikes; 13.0... which en-, gage-the adjacent end: of coconut 'SD Jan'd holds. coconut, 80 for rotation about. its axis;and. for movement through theparing; stations--and"untilathe end cutting. and: dis.- chargestation is: reached at which. time--spikes 130. are disengagedfrom thezcut. end of thecoconut;

As was. pointed out: above, theembodiment .of the present invention herei .described'; includes. two paring stations at each of which is. arrangedraplurality'ofoverlapping. circular: rotating knivesthe centers of which,

are disposed and: supported: in arr are approximately the half 'curveoruprofilerof' the coconut: to. be .pared. The knives; at." each. station are. heldirr a; frame; which is pivoted: and .countersupportediso. as. to resiliently engage: thetcoconut when thfil. same,v is. presented to the knives to effect a paring-thereof; to the desired depth. At the first-paring stationitheiframe. extends vertically with'therknives lying in a1more;or;:less horizontal plane, while. at zthe second paring: station :the 1 knife .frame extends; in a more or lesshorizontal plane and theknives: lie-in a moreorrless vertical plane; At both; paring stations. in the .presentrembodimentwthe knife frame-is spring supported-in both directions for limited rotation about the pivot to control' thezdepthofthe-cut by the knives.

When using overlapping rotary-circular kmves having circumferentially toothed...cutting edges. it is. impossible to sooverlap the-knivesthat all oftthe-coconut can. be pared at; one station; Rings of skin: will beleft about the coconut andithese ringsmust beremovedby the arrangement of the overlappingsknivessat thezsecond or subsequent paring station. theseknivesto completely 13211893.:606011111. is shown'm Figs. 3 and 4wherev any arrangement of Fig. 3: will..be.removed by the arrangement of the knives of Fig. 4.

Frame .20, asinoted'above, carries the paring knives and associated structure for each of the paring stations and includesra suitable platform 131 for electric motor 132 which drives belt-133m rotatepulley 134' which inturnrotatesshaft1-35'and gear 136 which is mounted thereon within a-suitablehousing 137: An internally toothed ring"gear-138-'(Fig-. la) is mounted for-rotation in housing 137 and is driven by gear 136. Engaging ring gear 138 within housing 137 are a plurality of small gears 139 equal in number to the number of circular knives employed at the first cutting station and gears 139 are connected to suitable flexible drive cables 140 there being one such cable 140 for each of the circular knives.

Housing 137 is held by a suitable brace 141 and carries guides 142 whose function will be described hereinafter. Arms 143 extend downwardly from frame 20 and pivotally support at 144 an arcuate shaped frame 145 in which are mounted a plurality of tubes 146 corresponding in number to the number of rotary knives employed. Tubes 146 are additionally supported by a second arcuate frame 147 which is mounted for sliding movement between guides 142. Each of flexible drive cables 140 connects to one of the tubes 146 and the drive element thereof continues therethrough. A circular knife 148 is mounted at the other extremity of each of the tubes 146 and is rotated by the drive cable 140 extending therethrough. The knife frame hung on pivot 144 is spring loaded for controlled movement and to provide the desired depth of paring cut by springs 149 and 150, spring 149 being secured at one end to frame extension 151 and at the other end to extension 152 of frame 147 while spring is secured at one end to brace 141 and atthe other end to extension 153 of frame 147.

The mechanism for driving the cutters at the second paring station is in every way similar to that described above for the first paring station, it being remembered that the rotary paring knives at the second paring station A. suitable arrangementofv skin left by. the knives in. the

are so: disposed as to remove the skin not removed? at the first paringstation. Atthe second paringj station springs 154 and 155' counterbalance the weight of the knife fr'ame about the pivot 156' and engage the arc shaped framemember 157 corresponding'to the above described frame member 145'.

The operation ofrthe embodiment of the novel paring machine of the present invention should now be apparent. The .coconuttobe. pared is'received at loading station 10 between the opposed pair: of icam actuated plungers and is rotated about itslongaxis. From loading station 10 the rotating coconut is moved to the first paring station 11 andrpauses there, by:reason-of the'step-by-step driveof shaft 17', during'paring by the knives 148 These knives and their associated frame-tend to occupy a nor mal position about pivot'144 in-which springs 149' and 150 are counterbalanced. Thisposition is'such that" thearc-shaped cutting head will be: engaged even: by: a' small coconut as it moves into paring position under theknives; and will be displaced to the left as seen in Fig. 1, swinging about pivot 144. The depth of paring-cut will depend mainly on thespring tension which can be selected as desired.

When paring is completed at station 11' the Geneva mechanism 23 moves the coconut to the second paring station 12 and stops the coconut there for. further paring. The knives at the second paring-stationare displaceable. about their pivot 156 under the control of springs 154 and 155 by thecoconutin thesame manner as the knives at the first paring station-and the--spring-:tension controls the depth of cut of the knives.

When paring is completed at the-secondiparing station driving mechanism 23 moves the-coconut to end cuttingand discharge station '13 where the cylindrical-end knives are cam actuated-to-cut the unpared ends from the coconut, the plungers are withdrawnby their' cams and the pared nut is removed-from the machine.

Itshould now be apparent that bythe present invention there has been provided a novel paring machine which in every way satisfies the several objectivesdescribed above. Changes inor modifications-to the'above described-illustrative embodiment of this invention may now occur to those skilled in the artwithout departing fromthepresent inventive concept and reference should therefore be had to the appended claims to determine the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A paring machine for commodities shaped similarly to a coconut comprising a commodity holding device for moving a commodity past a paring station while rotating the commodity on its own axis, and paring means at said station comprising a set of circumferentially toothed disk knives overlapping one another circumferentially with their centers disposed in an arc approximating the half profile of the commodity, said set of knives being disposed in planes substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the commodity and being resiliently mounted as a unit for yielding movement in a direction substantially at right angles to said axis of rotation.

2. In a paring machine for edible commodities, a frame, a second frame mounted for rotation in said first frame, a plurality of stations on said second frame each station including a pair of axially disposed reciprocal and rotatable plungers for holding the commodity, a cylindrical knife rotatably and reciprocally mounted on each of said plungers, cam means rotatably mounted on said second frame for reciprocating said plungers and knives, a common drive means drivingly connected with and rotating said plungers, knives and cam means, paring means pivoted on said first frame for engagement with the cornmodities at more than one of said stations each of said paring means including a set of overlapping rotating circular knives having their centers in an arc approximating the half profile of the commodity, and means for counterbalancing each set of knives about its pivot for yielding engagement with the surface of the commodity as it is carried past the paring means'by rotation of said second frame, said cams for said plungers holding said plungers in engagement with the commodity as the commodity passes said paring means, and said cams for said cylindrical knives moving said knives into cutting engagement With the ends of the commodity after said paring means have been passed by the commodity.

3. In a paring machine for edible commodities, a frame, a second frame mounted for rotation in said first frame, four stations on said second frame each of said stations including a pair of axially disposed rotatable and reciprocal plungers for holding the commodity, a cylindrical knife rotatably and reciprocally mounted on each of said plungers, cam means rotatably mounted on said second frame for reciprocating said plungers and said knives, a common drive means drivingly connected with and rotating said plungers, knives and cam means, first paring means pivoted on said first frame for engagement with the commodity at one of said stations, second paring means pivoted on said frame for engagement with the commodity at another of said stations, each of said paring means including a set of overlapping rotating circular knives having their centers in an arc approximating the half profile of the commodity, and means for counterbalancing each set of knives about its pivot for yielding engagement with the surface of the commodity as it is carried past the paring means by the rotation of said second frame, said cams for said plungers moving said plungers into engagement with the commodity before the paring stations and said cams for said cylindrical knives moving said cylindrical knives into cutting engagement with the commodity after the paring stations.

4. A paring machine as described in claim 3 in which the overlapping rotatable circular knives at said second paring station are arranged to pare the unpared portions of the commodity left by said first paring station.

5. In a paring machine, a frame, a second frame mounted in said first frame for rotation through a loading station, at least two paring stations, and a discharge station, said second frame having a plurality of commodity holding and rotating means, paring means at each of said paring stations, each of said paring means including a frame pivoted on'said first frame, a plurality of overlapping rotatable circular knives mountedon. said pivoted frame and disposed with their centers inan arc approxi mating the half profile of the commodity, and counterbal-v ancing means between said pivoted frame and said first frame providing yielding engagement of said knives with the surface of the commodity as it is carried past the knives by the rotation of said second frame, said commodity holding .means receiving the commodity at said loading station and rotating the commodity while moving it past said paring stations and to said discharge station.

6. A paring machine as described in claim 5 in which said overlapping rotatable circular knives stations subsequent to said first paring station are ar ranged to pare the unpared portions of the commodity leftby the preceding paring stations.

7. In a paring machine inwhich the commodity is moved from a loading station to at least two paring stations and to a discharge station, means for receiving the commodity at said loading station and for rotating the commodity on its own axis while moving it through said other stations, paringmeans at each of said paring stations, each of said paring means including a pivoted counterbalanced frame, a plurality of overlapping rotatable circular knives mounted on said frame and dis.-

posed with their centers in an arc approximating the half profile of the commodity, said knives being resiliently mounted as a unit for yielding engagement with the surface of a commodity. moving through said paring stations and means for rotating said circular knives.

8. A paring machine as described in claim 7 in which.

said overlapping rotatable circular knives at said paring stations subsequent to said first paring station are arranged to pare the unpared portions of the commodity left by the preceding paring stations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,116,880 Giampietro Nov. 10, 1914 1,860,746 MacDougall May 31, 1932 1,951,804 MacDougall Mar. 20, 1934 2,365,358 Rector Dec. 19, 1944 at said paringv UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,862,534 December 2, 1958 Hugh 0 MacDougall Column 5, line ll, for "approximately" read approximating column 6,-line 52, after "toothed" insert rotatable Signed and sealed this 21st day of April 1959.

SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

